Bonding Package Components Through Plating

ABSTRACT

A method includes aligning a first electrical connector of a first package component to a second electrical connector of a second package component. With the first electrical connector aligned to the second electrical connector, a metal layer is plated on the first and the second electrical connectors. The metal layer bonds the first electrical connector to the second electrical connector.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/527,422, entitled “Bonding Package Components Through Plating,” filedon Jun. 19, 2012, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

In the formation of a semiconductor wafer, integrated circuit devicessuch as transistors are first formed at the surface of a semiconductorsubstrate. Interconnect structures are then formed over thesemiconductor substrate and the integrated circuit devices. Electricalconnectors such as metal bumps are formed on the surface of thesemiconductor wafer to electrically connect to the integrated circuitdevices. The semiconductor wafer is sawed into a plurality ofsemiconductor chips.

Packaging the semiconductor chips may be performed through reflowprocesses. During the reflow processes, the solder regions between theelectrical connectors of the semiconductor chips are reflowed to bondthe semiconductor chips to other package components such as device dies,interposers, package substrates, or the like. The solder regions aremolten in the reflow processes. The shapes and the profiles of themolten solder regions are difficult to control, however. This may causeproblems such as bridging, and hence deteriorations of the bondingquality or the yield loss.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the embodiments, and the advantagesthereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 through 6 are cross-sectional views of intermediate stages inthe bonding of package components in accordance with some exemplaryembodiments, wherein the bonding is performed through the plating ofmetal layers; and

FIGS. 7 through 11 are cross-sectional views of bonded packagecomponents in accordance with some alternative exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the embodiments of the disclosure are discussedin detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that the embodimentsprovide many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in awide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussedare illustrative, and do not limit the scope of the disclosure.

A package and the method of forming the same are provided in accordancewith various exemplary embodiments. Intermediate stages of forming thepackage through a bonding process are illustrated. Variations of theembodiments are discussed. Throughout various views and illustrativeembodiments, like reference numbers are used to designate like elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates package components 100 and 200 that are to be bondedto each other. Each of package components 100 and 200 may be a devicedie, an interposer die, a package substrate (such as a laminatesubstrate), a package, or the like. When package component 100 or 200 isa device die, it may be a memory die, a core device die, or the like,which includes active devices (not shown) such as transistors therein.When package component 100 or 200 is an interposer die, the interposerdie is free from active devices therein, and may or may not comprisepassive devices (not shown) such as resistors and capacitors therein.Package component 100 includes electrical connector 102, and packagecomponent 200 includes electrical connector 202. Electrical connectors102 and 202 may be metal connectors comprising copper, nickel,palladium, aluminum, gold, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof.Accordingly, electrical connectors 102 and 202 are alternativelyreferred to hereinafter as metal connectors 102 and 202, respectively.

In some embodiments, connectors 102 and 202 are metal pillars. In theseembodiments, connector 102 is formed on Under-Bump Metallurgy (UBM) 104,which is connected to a metal pad (not shown). Similarly, connector 202is formed on UBM 204, which is connected to a metal pad (not shown). Inalternative embodiments, one of connectors 102 and 202 is a metal padthat is similar to metal pads 102A shown in FIG. 5. As also shown inFIG. 1, package components 100 and 200 are placed against each other,with electrical connectors 102 and 202 aligned to each other, and placedin contact with each other. Surface 102′ of connector 102 is in contactwith surface 202′ of connector 202. Surfaces 102′ and 202′ aresubstantially flat to have a good contact. Package components 100 and200 are held together as an integrated unit, for example, using a clamp(not shown). Reaction solution 20 is provided for performing thesubsequent process step as shown in FIG. 2. Arrows 21 represent thatpackage components 100 and 200 are placed against each other, and arrow23 represents that package components 100 and 200 are placed intoreaction solution 20.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, package components 100 and 200 are submergedinto reaction solution 20. During and after the step of submergingpackage components 100 and 200, the relative positions of connectors 102and 202 are fixed, and connectors 102 and 202 do not move relative toeach other. Connectors 102 and 202 remain in contact with each other fora period of time when package components 100 and 200 are in reactionsolution 20.

Reaction solution 20 is configured to react with electrical connectors102 and 202, so that metal plated layer 22 (including layer 22A andlayer 22B, which are referred to collectively as 22) is plated on thesurfaces of electrical connectors 102 and 202. The reaction may be anelectroless plating reaction or an immersion reaction, and is selective,so that metal layer 22 is plated on electrical connectors 102 and 202,and not on the dielectric layers such as 106 and 206 in packagecomponents 100 and 200, respectively. In some embodiments, during thereaction, the metal ions in reaction solution 20 are deposited on thesurfaces of electrical connectors 102 and 202 to form metal layer 22.The corresponding reaction is referred to as the electroless platingreaction. In alternative embodiments, during the reaction, the metalions in reaction solution 20 replaces the metal atoms in the surfacelayer of electrical connectors 102 and 202 to form metal layer 22. Thecorresponding reaction is referred to as the immersion reaction. Theresulting metal layer 22 comprises a material selected from electrolesscopper, electroless Cobalt (CoB or CoWP), Electroless Nickel (EN),Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG), Electroless Nickel ElectrolessPalladium (ENEP), Electroless Nickel Electroless Palladium ImmersionGold (ENEPIG), Immersion Tin (ImSn), Immersion Silver (ImAg), ImmersionGold (ImAu), and combinations thereof. During the plating, reactionsolution 20 may be heated to a temperature between about 25° C. andabout 90° C.

When metal layers 22 are each a composite layer such as ENIG, ENEP,ENEPIG, or the like, package components 100 and 200 may be placed in aplurality of immersion reaction solutions sequentially, so that aplurality of layers are formed layer by layer. For example, when metallayer 22 is an ENIG layer, package components 100 and 200 are placedinto a first reaction solution to plate a nickel layer. Packagecomponents 100 and 200 are then placed into a second reaction solutionto plate a gold layer. During and between the first and the secondimmersion reactions, the positions of electrical connectors 102 and 202do not shift relative to each other.

As a result of the plating of metal layer 22, electrical connectors 102and 202 are bonded to each other, and hence package components 100 and200 are also bonded together. Thickness T1 of metal layer 22 may bebetween about 0.2 μm and about 20 μm, and is great enough so that metallayer 22 is strong enough to bond electrical connectors 102 and 202together, and metal layer 22 does not break. It is appreciated that thedimensions recited throughout the description are merely examples, andmay be changed to different values. Depending on the process of theelectroless plating or the immersion reaction, metal layer 22 mayinclude a single layer such as nickel, copper, cobalt, silver, tin,gold, or the like. Metal layer 22 may also be a composite layerincluding a plurality of sub-layers selected from nickel, palladium,gold, copper, cobalt, silver, tin, and the like. Each of the sub-layersmay form a ring that encircles electrical connectors 102 and 202, andthe outer rings encircle inner rings. For example, when metal layer 22is an ENIG layer, a gold layer encircles a nickel layer. Furthermore,metal layer 22 includes first portions on the sidewalls of electricalconnector 102 and the second portions on the sidewalls of electricalconnector 202. No distinguishable interface exists between the firstportions and the second portions since the first and the second portionsof metal layer 22 are formed simultaneously. The first portions and thesecond portions may have substantially uniform thicknesses. Afterplating, package components 100 and 200 are removed from reactionsolution 20, and are rinsed, for example, using de-ionized water.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, package components 100 and 200 are bonded with no gapleft between electrical connectors 102 and 202. Accordingly, metal layer22 does not extend between connectors 102 and 202. FIGS. 3 and 4illustrate the bonding of package components 100 and 200 in accordancewith alternative embodiments. Unless specified otherwise, the materialsand formation methods of the components in these embodiments and theembodiments in FIGS. 5 through 11 are essentially the same as thecomponents that are denoted in FIGS. 1 and 2 using same referencenumerals. The details of the like components shown in FIGS. 3 through 11may thus be found in the discussion of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1and 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, package components 100 and 200 are placed, withelectrical connectors 102 and 202 aligned to each other. The relativepositions of package components 100 and 200 are fixed and secured, forexample, by clamps and spacers (not shown). As a result, electricalconnectors 102 and 202 are spaced apart from each other by a gap havinga D1 distance. Distance D1 between electrical connectors 102 and 202 maybe smaller than about 10 μm, although distance D1 may have a differentvalue. The placement of package components 100 and 200 are performedbefore package components 100 and 200 are placed into reaction solution20, wherein the placing of package components 100 and 200 into reactionsolution 20 is represented by an arrow in FIG. 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, package components 100 and 200 are placed inreaction solution 20, so that metal layer 22 is plated, wherein the stepfor plating metal layer 22 is the same as the plating step shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. The resulting metal layer 22 bonds package components 100and 200 to each other. Metal layer 22, besides being plated on thesidewalls of electrical connectors 102 and 202, also comprises a portionplated between electrical connectors 102 and 202. The portion of metallayer 22 in the gap contacts both surfaces 102′ and 202′. In someembodiments, metal layer 22 is a composite layer comprising sub-layers22A and 22B, which comprise different metals. In some other embodiments,metal layer 22 is a composite layer comprising additional sub-layers.Throughout the description, sub-layer 22A is label using both “22A” and“22” to indicated that sub-layer 22A is also a portion of layer 22, andsub-layer 22B is label using both “22B” and “22” to indicated thatsub-layer 22B is also a portion of layer 22. In some other embodiments,metal layer 22 comprises more than two sub-layers. Accordingly, thecomposite metal layer 22 is plated using a plurality of reactionsolutions 20, each for plating one sub-layer. Each of the sub-layers(such as 22A and 22B) is plated using the same method shown in FIGS. 1and 2, except that the reaction solution is selected according to themetal in the corresponding sub-layers. Sub-layer 22B may be plated whensub-layer 22A has already filled the gap between electrical connectors102 and 202 substantially fully. In some exemplary embodiments,sub-layer 22A is a nickel layer that is plated between, and on sidewallsof, electrical connectors 102 and 202. Sub-layer 22B is a gold layer, ora composite layer comprising a palladium layer and a gold layer. Inalternative embodiment, sub-layer 22A is a composite layer comprising anickel layer and a palladium layer, and is plated between, and onsidewalls of, electrical connectors 102 and 202. Sub-layer 22B may inturn be a gold layer. After the plating of metal layer 22, packagecomponents 100 and 200 are taken out of reaction solution 20, and arerinsed.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the intermediate stages in bonding throughplating, wherein package components 100 includes two separate packagecomponent 100A and 100B. Referring to FIG. 5, package component 200includes electrical connectors 202, which further include electricalconnectors 202A and 202B. Height H1 of electrical connectors 202A isgreater than height H2 of electrical connectors 202B. Package component100A includes electrical connectors 102A, which are aligned toelectrical connectors 202A. Package component 100B includes electricalconnectors 102B, which are aligned to electrical connectors 202B.Package component 100B may also be a device die, an interposer, apackage substrate, a package, or the like.

Next, electrical connectors 102A and 102B are aligned to electricalconnectors 202A and 202B, respectively, and the positions of packagecomponents 100A, 100B, and 200 are fixed relative to each other. Packagecomponent 200 may include electrical connectors 201, which may be solderballs. In some embodiments, similar to FIG. 1, electrical connectors102A are in contact with electrical connectors 202A, and/or electricalconnectors 102B are in contact with electrical connectors 202B. Inalternative embodiments, similar to FIG. 3, electrical connectors 102Aare spaced apart from electrical connectors 202A, and/or electricalconnectors 102B are spaced apart from electrical connectors 202B. Arrow21 in FIG. 5 represents the step for placing package components 100A,100B, and 200 together, and arrow 23 represents that package components100A, 100B, and 200 are placed into reaction solution 20.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, package components 100A, 100B, and 200 areplaced in reaction solution 20 to form metal layers 22. As a result,package components 100A and 100B are bonded to package component 200. Insome embodiments, metal layers 22 are not inserted between electricalconnectors 102A and 202A (or 102B and 202B), similar to what are shownin FIG. 2. In alternative embodiments, metal layers 22 are insertedbetween electrical connectors 102A and 202A (or 102B and 202B), similarto what are shown in FIG. 4. The details of metal layer 22 areessentially the same as in FIGS. 2 and 4, and hence are not repeatedherein.

In FIG. 6, the bonding of package components 100A and 100B to packagecomponent 200 is performed simultaneously. In alternative embodiments,the step of bonding package component 100B to package component 200 isperformed before the step of bonding package component 100A to packagecomponent 200.

FIG. 7 illustrates a resulting package after the bonded packagecomponents 100A, 100B, and 200 are taken out of reaction solution 20 andrinsed. Next, polymer 24, which may be a molding compound, a moldingunderfill, or the like, is dispensed into the gap between packagecomponents 100A and 200. Polymer 24 molds package component 100Btherein. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, polymer 24 has topsurface 24′ level with or slightly lower than top surface 100B′ ofpackage component 100B. In alternative embodiments, polymer 24 fills anentirety of the gap between package components 100A and 200. Packagecomponent 100B is hence fully encapsulated in polymer 24.

FIGS. 8 through 11 illustrate the bonded package in accordance withalternative embodiments. These embodiments are essentially the same asthe embodiments in FIGS. 5 through 7, except that the shapes ofelectrical connectors 102A/102B/102/202A/202B/202 are different. Forexample, in FIG. 8, electrical connectors 102A are bond pads. Electricalconnectors 202A are tapered metal pillars, with top width W1 smallerthan bottom width W2. The tapered ends of electrical connectors 202A arebonded to bond pads 102A. Electrical connectors 202A are tapered inaccordance with these embodiments. The surfaces of electrical connectors102A and 202A have different sizes.

In FIG. 9, electrical connectors 102A and 202A are all metal pillars,and the surfaces of electrical connectors 102A and 202A that contacteach other may have substantially equal sizes. In FIG. 10, electricalconnectors 102A and 202A are all metal pillars. Metal pillars 102A arenot tapered, and width W3 is substantially equal to width W4. Electricalconnectors 202A are tapered metal pillars. In FIG. 11, packagecomponents 100 and 200 are bonded to each other, with electricalconnectors 102 being metal pads, and electrical connectors 202 beingmetal pillars. No additional package component is disposed betweenpackage components 100 and 200 in these embodiments. It is appreciatedthat FIGS. 8 through 11 show some exemplary combinations of differenttypes and shapes of connectors 102A, 102B, 202A, and 202B, and furthercombinations of the shapes and types of electrical connectors are alsoin the scope of various embodiments.

In some embodiments, the bonding process is performed through anelectroless plating or an immersion process. Accordingly, compared toexisting metal-to-metal direct bonding, the bonding in accordance withembodiments may be performed at lower temperatures, and no high pressureis needed to press the package components against each other during thebonding process. The bonding in accordance with embodiments also doesnot involve the use of solder, which is likely to cause bridging due tothe reflow process. The minimum pitch of the electrical connectors isthus reduced.

In accordance with embodiments, a method includes aligning a firstelectrical connector of a first package component to a second electricalconnector of a second package component. With the first electricalconnector aligned to the second electrical connector, a metal layer isplated on the first and the second electrical connectors. The metallayer bonds the first electrical connector to the second electricalconnector.

In accordance with other embodiments, a method includes aligning a firstelectrical connector of a first package component to a second electricalconnector of a second package component. With the first electricalconnector aligned to the second electrical connector, the first and thesecond package components are submerged into a plating solution to platea metal layer, wherein the metal layer is in contact with the first andthe second electrical connectors, and bonds the first electricalconnector to the second electrical connector. After the metal layer isplated, the first package component and the second package component areretrieved from the plating solution.

In accordance with yet other embodiments, a device includes a firstpackage component having a first electrical connector, wherein the firstelectrical connector comprises a first surface and first sidewallsurfaces. The device further includes a second package component havinga second electrical connector, wherein the second electrical connectorcomprises a second surface and second sidewall surfaces, and wherein thesecond surface of the second electrical connector faces the firstsurface of the first electrical connector. A metal layer includes afirst portion on the first sidewall surfaces and a second portion on thesecond sidewall surfaces, wherein the first portion is continuouslyconnected to the second portion, with no interfaces therebetween.

Although the embodiments and their advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Moreover,the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited tothe particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, andcomposition of matter, means, methods and steps described in thespecification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed, that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the disclosure.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps. In addition, each claim constitutes a separateembodiment, and the combination of various claims and embodiments arewithin the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A package comprising: a first package componentcomprising a first electrical connector, wherein the first electricalconnector comprises a first surface and first sidewall surfaces; asecond package component comprising a second electrical connector,wherein the second electrical connector comprises a second surface andsecond sidewall surfaces, and wherein the second surface of the secondelectrical connector is parallel to the first surface of the firstelectrical connector; and a metal layer comprising: a first portion onthe first sidewall surfaces; and a second portion on the second sidewallsurfaces, wherein the first portion is continuously connected to thesecond portion, with no interfaces therebetween.
 2. The package of claim1, wherein the metal layer is formed of a non-solder material.
 3. Thepackage of claim 1, wherein the first portion and the second portion ofthe metal layer have a same thickness, and are formed of a samematerial.
 4. The package of claim 1, wherein both the first surface andthe second surface are planar surfaces, and the first surface contactsthe second surface to form a plane, and wherein the metal layer does notextend between the first surface and the second surface.
 5. The packageof claim 1, wherein the first surface is spaced apart from the secondsurface by a gap, wherein the metal layer comprises a third portionextending into the gap, with the third portion having a substantiallyuniform thickness.
 6. The package of claim 1, wherein the metal layercomprises a nickel layer, and wherein the package further comprises anadditional metal layer formed of a non-nickel metal, and wherein theadditional metal layer forms a ring encircling the metal layer and thefirst and the second electrical connectors.
 7. The package of claim 6,wherein the metal layer is a nickel layer that extends between, andcontacting, the first surface and the second surface, and wherein theadditional metal layer does not extend between the first surface and thesecond surface.
 8. A package comprising: a first package componentcomprising: a first major surface; a first electrical connectorprotruding out of the first major surface, wherein the first electricalconnector comprises first sidewall surfaces substantially perpendicularto the first major surface, and a first planar surface substantiallyparallel to the first major surface; a second package componentcomprising: a second major surface parallel to the second major surface;a second electrical connector protruding out of the second majorsurface, wherein the second electrical connector comprises secondsidewall surfaces substantially perpendicular to the second majorsurface, and a second planar surface substantially parallel to thesecond major surface; and an integral metal layer comprising: a firstportion on the first sidewall surfaces; and a second portion on thesecond sidewall surfaces.
 9. The package of claim 8 further comprising adevice die bonded to the first major surface of the first packagecomponent, wherein a height of the first electrical connector is greaterthan a thickness of the device die.
 10. The package of claim 9 furthercomprising an encapsulation material encapsulating the device die and afirst portion of the first electrical connector therein, with a secondportion of the first electrical connector protruding out of theencapsulation material.
 11. The package of claim 9, wherein the firstpackage component further comprising a third electrical connector, andthe device die further comprises a fourth electrical connector bonded tothe third electrical connector, and wherein the package furthercomprises: an additional integral metal layer on sidewalls of the thirdelectrical connector and the fourth electrical connector, wherein theadditional integral metal layer and the integral metal layer are formedof a same metallic material.
 12. The package of claim 8, wherein theintegral metal layer is formed of a non-solder material.
 13. The packageof claim 8, wherein the first portion and the second portion of theintegral metal layer have a same thickness and are formed of a samematerial.
 14. The package of claim 8, wherein the first planar surfacecontacts the second planar surface to form an interface plane, andwherein the integral metal layer does not extend between the firstplanar surface and the second planar surface.
 15. The package of claim8, wherein the first planar surface is spaced apart from the secondplanar surface by a gap, wherein the integral metal layer furthercomprises a third portion extending into the gap.
 16. The package ofclaim 8, wherein the integral metal layer comprises a nickel layer, andthe package further comprises an additional metal layer selected fromthe group consisting essentially of a palladium layer, a gold layer, andcombinations thereof, and wherein the additional metal layer forms aring encircling the integral metal layer and the first and the secondelectrical connectors.
 17. The package of claim 16, wherein the integralmetal layer is a nickel layer that extends between, and contacting, thefirst planar surface and the second planar surface, and wherein theadditional metal layer does not extend between the first planar surfaceand the second planar surface.
 18. A package comprising: a first packagecomponent comprising a first electrical connector, wherein the firstelectrical connector comprises a first surface and first sidewallsurfaces; a second package component comprising a second electricalconnector, wherein the second electrical connector comprises a secondsurface and second sidewall surfaces, with the second surface spacedapart from the first surface by a space; a first metal layer comprising:a first portion contacting the first sidewall surfaces; a second portioncontacting the second sidewall surfaces; and a third portion between thefirst surface and the second surface, wherein an entirety of the spaceis filled by the third portion; and a second metal layer contacting thefirst portion and the second portion of the first metal layer.
 19. Thepackage of claim 18, wherein the first metal layer and the second metallayer are formed of different non-solder metallic materials.
 20. Thepackage of claim 18, wherein first portion and the second portion of thefirst metal layer have a same thickness.